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| [Image by Lethacolleen] |
Sugabelly, God's leading lady, and some others tagged me in the "10 Things I Love" meme a while back, but the thing is I'm afraid to do things like this because it makes me search the depths of my heart. It's not as simple as it looks; although the things I love are simple. So in no particular order, today I feel bold enough to proclaim 10 things that have stolen my heart in the twenty-five years of my existence:
1. Old Cards: I have several boxes of them. One day I was moving from one location in a city to another, and my sister told me that my cards were junk. I turned my head sideways to look at her, in a way she probably will never forget, and then I clutched my cards and put them in my traveling box. There is no way on earth I'm ever parting with my old cards: birthday cards, success cards, love cards/notes- every one of them I received all the way from secondary school. I even have some silly Valentines day cards. I would have kept the teddy bears that came with them also, but hubby would not like that now, would he? Lol.
2. Writing & Reading: When I was really young, maybe about ten, I and my younger siblings would cut sheets of paper out of exercise books, make holes in them, and tie them together with strings. Then we would write series about a young girl (the main character, Amanda) and her family. We used to write about how they moved to a new place and the kids had to get used to their new school. We were just plain silly. Then I started reading some books and my world changed: Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart, Eddie Iroh's Without A Silver Spoon, Onuora Nzekwu's Eze Goes to School, Wole Soyinka's The Lion and the Jewel, Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist & A Tale of Two Cities, and Christoph Von Shmid's The Basket of Flowers.
3. Children: I got married six months ago and children are not in our nearest plans, at least not yet. But anytime I carry a baby and stare into his eyes, I see pure unadulterated innocence. Then I start to wonder why that innocence goes away when the baby grows up. Little kids are so funny, they come to you and say the darndest things in their innocence, and they have no reason to lie. They are the most down-to-earth friends you can ever make. They speak their minds and they don't hide their feelings. Really, adults can learn from kids. They are the cutest little human beings ever. Now, let me not talk about the really pretty kids that I find when I go to the park or something, those ones that leave you day-dreaming about how they'll look when they're all grown up. Or those ones that you start match-making your little cousins, nieces, or nephews with (or your unborn children).
4. The Concept of Love: I don't think there's any other concept as powerful as the concept of love. There are many kinds of love, and they are all powerful. The first is God's love which involves the sacrifice of death. You see, the funny thing is that we take this kind of love and rub it in the sand with the soles of our shoes. Why? Because we don't understand the intensity. We weren't there when they nailed Him to the cross. We weren't there when He gave Moses instructions on how to live a Godly life. We weren't there when Jesus performed all those miracles ---> raising the dead from the grave and ridding people of their infirmities and sins. It's the kind of love that is easy to dismiss without faith & intimacy with God. Then there's eros, the kind of love that draws a man to a woman like a magnet, and makes them say all kinds of romantic things to each other. Then there's agape, the kind that makes you stop on the way to work and put a coin in a poor man's cup. In short, love is a powerful thing.
5. Sunshine: Even when it's hot, I love the feel of the heat of the sun's rays on my arms and legs. I might be sweating, but I still like it. It's something I can't imagine being without. It is what wakes me up after a dark night's sleep. It's just a beautiful phenomenon. It is the thing that poets and lyricists use to start their rhymes. Even the bible refers to God as the Sun: Psalm 84:11 "For the Lord God is a sun and shield."
6. Old Blue Jeans: I don't just love old blue jeans, I love my old clothes. Yes, I shop for new ones, but I find it hard to throw the old ones away. Old blue jeans remind you of summer picnics or family events. They bring back good memories (and maybe bad). They are a part of my history and I just never feel like throwing them away. One day I found a poem in a card that said something like this, "Thank you for laughter, sunshine, and old worn jeans." That card made me smile. See why I love cards?
7. Snow on Trees: This one is my most recent love. There is a road on the way to our church that is lined up with forests of tall trees on both sides. In January/February those trees were the most beautiful sight. All their leaves had fallen and they stood bare with snowflakes on every inch. All we saw was "white." It was really beautiful. Next year I'll try to document it by taking photographs.
8. Random Phone calls: I don't call people a lot. I'm more of a "go with the flow" kind of person, and some of my friends may not like it. But I have a couple of friends that call me randomly without any strings attached. I just love that about them. They don't need to think twice before calling me. It could be for something as little as getting certain information from me, or just to tell me what's making them mad. It could be for the most random hilarious gist ever (since they know I like gist). Anyway, I love those moments of random phone calls, and I like it when friends don't think you're a beast for not calling them, because really I'm not a beast...I just have too many projects to wrap around my head at a certain time that I feel the time is not right for little chit-chats.
9. Snuggling Under the Covers With a Good Novel: I am the slowest reader ever. I don't know why, but I can read one book for two months. Maybe it's because I like to absorb one scene in weeks. I really don't know. But I love snuggling under the covers on a rainy day and reading a good book. Books inspire me. They make me blog. They make me write. One day I want to have a big library of all the books I've ever read. Oh, I'm open to book suggestions too.
10. A Good Deep Discussion: If you can give me a good deep discussion on any given day, I would have huge respect for you. Maybe it's because of my parents and siblings. When I was young my father liked to raise up discussions-- he would talk about stuff like Democracy, the World Wars, Adolf Hitler, the Rich and Poor, and some other things. He used to make us watch all these classic movies like Mussolini, Till We Meet Again, and Lucky.
Question(s) for the Day: Do you identify with any of these things? And what 10 Things have you fallen in love with? :)
